High Energy Flux: 5 Secrets to a Faster Metabolism
“High energy flux” (or “G flux,” as it can also be known) sounds technical, but it can be reduced to a simple adage:
“Eat more, move more.”
This sounds radically different from typical diet and weight loss advice: “Eat less, move more.”
While restricting calorie intake does work for weight loss temporarily, it’s not necessarily a smart way of life if you want to maintain a fast, vibrant metabolism.
So in today’s article, we’re going to dive into the science of high energy flux, and discover how you can create this approach for yourself to get the best possible results from your nutrition and exercise!
What is High Energy Flux?
High energy flux means exercising more and also eating more calories to support your level of activity.
Low energy flux is the opposite – eating less and becoming more sedentary.
But why is high energy flux so important for metabolism? Shouldn’t weight manage itself just fine if your energy balance is hypothetically neutral? Shouldn’t someone have the same body composition whether they eat/burn 1400 calories a day or eat/burn 2000 calories a day?
The science behind it is very interesting, because it’s not alllllll about calories-in-calories-out. While your weight on the scale might be the same in those two scenarios, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that would look incredibly different (and your body might look different, too, even at the same weight!).
This is especially important as you age, because once you’re over 35, “sarcopenia” starts to happen – muscle loss. This means that your metabolism gradually decreases as you lose muscle mass. High energy flux is a great way to combat this.
On the flip side, low energy flux tends to predict future fat gain. Although you might be clinging to weight loss that you achieved on a strict diet, it’s crucial to change your approach for long-term maintenance, although it feels counterintuitive.
This is because consistent exercise has a cascade of effects on the body, including:
- Higher metabolic output from sheer calories burned through activity
- Larger muscle mass, which burns more calories even at rest (this battles the “sarcopenia,” or muscle loss, that happens with age)
- Fat loss (even if there’s no weight loss)
- Improved insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control
- Better “nutrient partitioning,” which means that your body does a better job of putting food to work and organizing how it gets stored in your body
And when you combine the increased exercise with higher calorie intake, you also get:
- Better tissue change in the body, from muscle to bone
- Faster recovery from workouts
- Heightened exercise performance
- Improved stress management (because of increased parasympathetic nervous system activity)
I’ll also add that eating more and moving more create better appetite control, which ultimately helps to manage weight better over time. This is why:
- Eating meals that are at least 400-550 calories stimulates the release of natural GLP-1’s in the body
- Eating too infrequently can increase appetite
- Exercise can help to manage appetite
5 Tips to Create High Energy Flux
People with higher energy flux have faster metabolisms – so how do you harness that power for yourself? Here are five practical tips:
1 – Make sure you’re exercising most days of the week, even if 1-2 days a week are “recovery” activities like walking or yoga
You don’t have to live at the gym, but exercising relatively hard for at least five hours a week is a good foundation for high energy flux.
2 – Limit diet timelines and aim to push maintenance calories as high as possible once the diet is over
Don’t live on super low calories forever! In my opinion, it really helps if someone can make peace with being about 5 pounds over their “perfect” weight so that they can release the diet and just start living (and get that energy flux up!). Alternately, it can be a really smart strategy to get calories (and training) as high as possible prior to starting a diet, so that you’re “topped off” and ready to experience optimal metabolic results.
3 – Follow a structured, progressive resistance training program to build lean muscle, especially if you’re over 35
The muscle-building portion of high energy flux is crucial – muscle is “metabolically expensive,” which means that your body has to do a lot of work to maintain it (which uses a lot of calories). Having more muscle is also good for blood sugar control. Don’t just grab a pair of 5’s at the gym and slog through some bicep curls – work hard on full-body, compound movements, even if they’re on strength machines.
4 – Increase your calories mostly through “health foods,” especially protein and high-fiber carbohydrates
“Higher calories” doesn’t mean “binge.” Although increasing from something like 1200 calories to 1700 calories can sound like a big jump, the reality is that 1700 calories can fill up pretty fast if you’re observing what you’re eating. Experiment with adding in more health foods like larger servings of whole grains (and whole grain products), beans, Greek yogurt, lean meats, high-fiber cereals, fruit, potatoes, etc.
5 – Build more natural activity into your everyday life (like step count goals)
It’s not all about the time you spend at the gym – being less sedentary throughout your day helps significantly with blood sugar control and overall energy expenditure. Try to take walk breaks and do the little “hacks” that create more natural activity – parking further from buildings, taking the stairs, take a call on a walking pad, etc.
References
Energy Intake / Physical Activity Interactions in the Homeostasis of Bodyweight Regulation
Physical Exercise and Appetite Regulation: New Insights
Energy Intake and Obesity: Ingestive Intake Outweighs Portion Size
The Effect of Eating Frequency on Appetite Control and Food Intake
